4/14/2009 @ 12:01AM

In Depth: Best Small Cities For Jobs

No. 9: Morgantown, W.Va.

In general, universities attract not only students, but also new businesses and investments. Morgantown is an example of a small city that has benefited from the local university even in the midst of an overall recession. Employment in Morgantown grew 2.6% from 2007 to 2008, a rate that even outpaces the 1.8% growth seen between 2006 and 2007, before the recession worsened. Twenty percent of the Morgantown labor force works in education and health–and this university population may also be the reason for a stable leisure and hospitality sector, which experienced job growth of 12.4% in 2008.